Raheem Sterling and Philippe Coutinho are both struggling with injuries at the moment (Picture: Getty Images)

Amid one of the busiest and most important periods of their season, Liverpool are facing up to a mounting list of injury worries, and Brendan Rodgers must use Saturday’s FA Cup clash away to Crystal Palace to manage his star players.

After the trip to Selhurst Park, Liverpool face up against Southampton and Manchester City in the Premier League as well as two Europa League ties with Besiktas and a potential FA Cup replay.

These fixtures could bear a significant marker on Liverpool’s success in reaching the top four and fulfilling their quest for silverware this season.

But Liverpool now have Lucas Leiva, Steven Gerrard, Raheem Sterling and Philippe Coutinho as injury worries, all arguably due to their sustained involvement.

Rodgers must step back and prioritise his challenge for Champions League qualification—be that in the Premier League or the Europa League—and rotate his side in the FA Cup.

The side’s previous FA Cup replay tie against Bolton Wanderers came at the beginning of February, meaning Rodgers had to contend with four fixtures—West Ham United, Bolton, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur—in less than two weeks.

Lucas’ injury, sustained in the Merseyside derby, was arguably a freak occurrence owing to his long-running fitness issues.

Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard is expected to be out injured for at least three weeks (Picture: Reuters)

But the loss of the Brazilian saw Rodgers field Gerrard for the 90 minutes in six days—the captain now faces up to three weeks on the sidelines.

Key players Sterling and Coutinho both took knocks in the Goodison Park draw, with the former now battling with fitness ahead of the trip to Palace and the latter cutting a tired figure against Spurs.

These are, of course, hugely important players for Liverpool, but Saturday’s FA Cup tie gives Rodgers the opportunity to field peripheral figures such as Joe Allen, Mario Balotelli and Adam Lallana and still challenge for progress.

Balotelli and Lallana combined for Liverpool’s winner against Spurs, and should be brimming with confidence.

Liverpool should be in a position where their rotational players can defeat a side like Crystal Palace, who are anchored to the bottom half of the Premier League table.

Using rotation in this tie allows Rodgers to protect some of his important assets from injury and burnout ahead of some important league and European fixtures, as well as giving the likes of Balotelli and Allen the opportunity to impress.